epn: European Pensions & Investment News articles from September 2005

epn: European Pensions & Investment News archives from September 2005

News: Helaba NT plans German multi-manager fund launch.
September 12, 2005... Helaba Northern Trust, the asset management joint venture between Frankfurt's Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen and Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI), is considering the introduction of NTGI's manager of manager product to the German...

News: AXA IM teams up with sister firm for portable alpha product.
September 12, 2005... Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) is co-operating with California-based quant house Axa Rosenberg for the creation of a portable alpha product, which it aims to launch soon in the form of a Luxembourg-based fund, possibly Ucits III-compliant....

News: Dutch investors to focus on fund of funds.
September 12, 2005... A joint study by Adveq, a private equity fund of funds investment manager, and Tilburg University, has found that fund of funds investments by Dutch institutional investors will see a significant growth in the next two to five years. ...

News: UK/Ireland pension schemes could face the axe under EU directive.
September 12, 2005... UK and Ireland cross-border pension schemes could fall foul of EU pensions legislation, the Irish Pensions Board has warned. These schemes, which are registered in Ireland but have UK members, could come within the scope of Article 20 of...

News: VBV targets US small and mid-caps.
September 12, 2005... Vienna-based, VBV Pensionskasse, with E3.4bn in assets, is to invest around E40m in US small and mid-caps and is currently seeking a specialist manager. The multi-employer is to invest jointly with its fellow Austrian entity, Erste...

News: Julius Baer in pole position after GAM acquisition.
September 12, 2005... Julius Baer's high profile deal with fellow Swiss giant UBS has added a high- alpha edge to its asset management capacity, through the acquisition of GAM. The deal hurtles Julius Baer to the position of largest pure-play wealth manager in...

News: News in brief.
September 12, 2005... SWISS ASSET MANAGERS SEE FIRST HALF BOOST Sarasin's assets under management have increased by SFr4bn to SFr57bn (E36.95bn) during the first half of 2005. While assets managed for institutional clients increased by almost SFr417m, the loss...

News: Deka FundMaster KAG sets out new pricing strategy.
September 12, 2005... Deka FundMaster KAG, the institutional fund administration platform owned by Germany's savings and regional state banks, has launched a volume-based pricing model. This replaces its previous purely fixed-fee approach. The new pricing...

News: People on the move.
September 12, 2005... KOEVENIG TO HEAD DWS SWISS SALES DWS Investments and Deutsche Asset Management Switzerland have appointed Tim Koevenig as their new head of sales for Switzerland. For the past five years, Mr Koevenig has headed sales of mutual funds to...

News: Denmark unveils regulatory regime ahead of EU pension fund directives.
September 12, 2005... Denmark has announced a new regulations for occupational pension funds in response to the introduction of the pan-European occupational pension fund directive. Both the directive and the new regulations will be in place by 23 September 2005....

News: UK's PPF attracts criticism over delay in recognising contingent funding arrangements.
September 12, 2005... The UK's Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has come under fire for refusing to take account of contingent funding arrangements in the first year of the risk-based levy to be imposed on pension funds. HSBC Actuaries and Consultants Limited...

News: DB schemes a 'major financial headache'.
September 12, 2005... UK companies face a huge, and largely untackled, problem as a result of the drain on resources that defined benefits (DB) pension schemes threaten to bring. New research by Aon Consulting warns that seven out of 10 companies have no exit...

News: DWP delays funding requirement scheme.
September 12, 2005... The UK department for work and pensions has delayed the implementation date for its new funding requirement scheme for occupational defined benefit pension schemes until the end of October. Under the regulations, trustees must seek...

News: Fortis digs deep into German market.
September 12, 2005... Fortis Investments has begun an aggressive expansion plan in Germany, with the acquisition of Westfalenbank's E1bn asset management business. The deal takes Fortis' German institutional assets under management to E1.5bn. It hopes to...

News: SEI hopes for Dutch manager of manager popularity after @265m Interpay mandate.
September 12, 2005... SEI Investments, the US-based manager of manager, is hoping to increase its Dutch assets under management to E2bn-E3bn after winning its first Netherlands mandate. The firm hopes that changing Dutch regulations will drive demand for...

News: BAM targets volatile markets with new L/S equity fund.
September 12, 2005... Baring Asset Management has launched its third long/short equity hedge fund. The Baring EMEA Absolute Return Fund will be available to institutional investors from November, once it has received approval by regulatory authorities. It aims to...

News: UBS tops asset manager poll as passive takes off.
September 12, 2005... UBS has been ranked the top asset manager by total funds under management, with Allianz Group in second place. Barclays Global Investors (BGI) took third place in the Watson Wyatt ranking, up from fifth place. UBS has $1,975bn under...

Interview: Structuring the development of quant.
September 12, 2005... Two years in his position as Axa Rosenberg's CEO have given Stephane Prunet the confidence that the time has come for quant in Europe. Significant business wins have propelled total assets under management (AUM) from $20bn two years ago to some...

Comment: Leader - Dutch worries over hedge funds are unnecessary.
September 12, 2005... Germany's finance minister, Hans Eichel, criticised short selling by hedge fund managers and then committed a volte face by permitting hedge funds to register onshore. Then came along Oskar Lafontaine, former SPD chairman, with a remark...

Comment: World View - Calm after the Katrina storm?
September 12, 2005... Oil price expectations have been easily surpassed by the 60 per cent rise over the last 12 months. Financial markets have now learned from this experience and have set their oil price expectations even higher - well ahead of the current price,...

Comment: Industry Voice - Hedge funds add spice to portfolios.
September 12, 2005... One newspaper trumpeted earlier this year that hedge fund return expectations had collapsed, and three months later, this sentiment is much less prevalent. Absolute returns in the hedge fund market thus far in 2005 are not stunning compared...

Comment: Mephisto - Marketing nous skips the Finns as chief execs remain tight-lipped.
September 12, 2005... Bertold Brecht, the German author and playwright, once claimed that that Finns can stay silent in both Finnish and Swedish, the two official languages of the country. This may be true, but when the Finns do talk, they still struggle open up...

Transaction Costs: Making sure the costs stick to the schedule.
September 12, 2005... Introduction The analysis of transaction costs within investment portfolios has traditionally focused on equity trades. Vendors have been offering such services since the mid to late 1980s, and recently some vendors have expanded their...

Special Focus: German Benefits Focus - Deregulation gains momentum.
September 12, 2005... Irrespective of their legal form, German Pensionskassen must usually seek approval from the financial services regulator BaFin, and before they open for business. BaFin must approve the new schemes' tariffs using a uniform calculation, while...

Special Focus: German Benefits Focus - Case Study: Deutsche Bank's introduction of DC-orientated benefits.
September 12, 2005... No occupational pension benefit vehicle has been the subject of such a gloomy prognosis as the German direct promise model, predictions that can be principally attributed to: - lack of professionalism and transparency on how processes and...

Fund Profile: VBV - Merger makes for a delirium waltz.
September 12, 2005... Austria's market for multi-employer pension funds is dynamic and competitive, but is concentrated in just six players, with a mere 15 corporate funds that are not open to third parties. One of the new kids on the block is the VBV, created a...

Pensions Snapshot: Denmark.
September 12, 2005... Folkeborsen, Denmark's new electronic investment platform, is failing to attract demand from local pension savers. Since its launch in January 2005, only 5,585 trades have taken place on the platform, representing a total turnover of DKr96m...

Pensions Snapshot: Slovenia.
September 26, 2005... Working in dangerous circumstances has its benefits in Slovenia. As part of the long-delayed implementation of the second pillar system, mine workers and others who toil in difficult working environments are compelled to save for their future....

News: CEIOPS looks for feedback on practicalities of EU directive.
September 27, 2005... The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) has called for representations from the financial services industry on the implementation of the EU pensions directive. "After the implementation of the...

News: DNB's decision to delay implementation of FTK rules meets with mixed reception.
September 27, 2005... The Dutch national bank's decision to delay the implementation of the FTK pension funding rules has come as a relief to many funds, while angering others that had made extensive preparations. The bank, which took over the supervision of...

News: DeAM appoints four managers to ManagerSelect.
September 27, 2005... DeAM has appointed four underlying managers to its first multi-manager fund, DeAM ManagerSelect Global Equity. A fifth manager is set to be appointed to the fund, which was launched on 15 September. A fixed income multi-manager fund is...

News: Journalist pension fund ventures into Russia.
September 27, 2005... PP Pension, the Stockholm-based SKr7bn (E750m) fund for journalists, has appointed East Capital to manage a E38m Russian equities brief. Tomas Lindstrand, CIO at the fund, told epn's sister publication Nordic Region Pensions & Investment...

News: FRR boosts coffers with European equity focus.
September 27, 2005... Fonds de Reserve Pour les Retraites, the French pensions reserve fund, has increased the size of its pension assets to E23.41bn after returning almost 8 per cent from its already invested assets since the start of the year. The fund,...

News: German joint venture merges asset management activities.
September 27, 2005... Mellon Financial Corporation and WestLB have established a 50:50 joint venture that will see the German house combining its core asset management activities, branded as WestAM, with Mellon's German asset management operations. The joint...

News: Britannic to launch eight Dublin-based Sicav funds to offer higher alpha products.
September 27, 2005... Britannic Asset Management (Bam) is set to launch a new fund range through a series of investment boutique tie-ups that will be marketed to institutions across Europe. Eight funds will be created as part of a Dublin-domiciled Sicav to be...

News: News in brief.
September 27, 2005... SWISS CAPITAL LOOKS TO EXPAND IN FAVOURABLE REGULATORY REGIONS Swiss Capital Group, the $1.5bn Swiss alternative investments firm, is looking to expand into the Nordic region. "We are looking to expand mainly in Finland and Sweden. Local...

News: European Court rules for tax free fund management fees.
September 27, 2005... The European Court of Justice Advocate General has supported Abbey National's call for a sales tax (VAT) exemption on management fees when UK-authorised investment funds delegate services to third-party administrators. However, it remains...

News: UK firms face oe15k costs if they wish to cut fees for PPF.
September 27, 2005... UK companies face excessive costs to get their Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levies reduced, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Employers that have reduced their liabilities by making extra contributions to a pension fund will...

People on the move.
September 27, 2005... GRISAY MOVES INTO POLE POSITION AT F&C F&C Asset Management has appointed Alain Grisay as its chief executive. Mr Grisay was previously F&C's deputy chief executive responsible for the firm's European institutional business. Prior to...

News: Hedge funds at vanguard of demand for alternatives.
September 27, 2005... Hedge funds are set to lead a surge in the demand for alternative assets with allocations to the sector expected to make up 7.2 per cent of total European institutional assets by 2007. According to a survey by Russell Investments,...

News: Aberdeen property arm launches Finland fund targeting domestic and international investors.
September 27, 2005... Aberdeen Property Investors (API) has launched a property fund for the Finnish market. Structured as a semi open-ended fund, it seeks to build a portfolio consisting of real estate in the five biggest towns in Finland. Pertti Vanhanen,...

News: F&C broadens reach with new equity fund.
September 27, 2005... F&C Alternative Investments has diversified away from its core expertise of derivatives-based hedge funds, to open a European equity long/short hedge fund. The firm hopes to source E250m-E300m for its Citrine Fund, with an ultimate...

News: Optimal lures Popat away from Northern Trust.
September 27, 2005... Amit Popat, the former head of UK business development at Northern Trust Global Investments, has been poached by fund of hedge funds provider Optimal Investment Services to build the firm's institutional business in northern Europe, Ireland and...

News Analysis: Possibility of 'Jamaica' coalition fans hopes for German reform.
September 27, 2005... The German chancellor, Gerhard Schroder, made a bold assertion after the elections on 18 September when he said he still had a mandate to remain in office, despite coming a marginal second to his Christian Democrat rival, Angela Merkel. ...

Comment: Leader - IORP directive deadline highlights challenges.
September 27, 2005... Readers will probably be familiar with EU directive 2003/41/EC on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision, which regulates the supervision and activities of EU company-based pension funds. The...

Comment: World View - Japan, the new story.
September 27, 2005... Japanese equities are hitting new multi-year highs day after day. This is welcome news for a country which has been fighting a slow war against falling asset prices for the last 15 years. Most investors have given up on this market as it has...

Comment: Can nothing slow down Uncle Sam?
September 27, 2005... If you had been told at the start of the year that US interest rates would rise five times to 3.5 per cent with most likely more to come; the dollar would rise by 8 per cent against the euro; oil prices would rise to $70 and pump prices by...

Comment: Mephisto - Pensions benefit from Jamaica.
September 27, 2005... You might be forgiven for suspecting a light touch of Mephistophelian intervention in the elections that took place the weekend before last. While Germany's two main parties came within a whisker of each other on 18 September, New...

Feature: French offerings failing to spur a pension revolution.
September 27, 2005... Arguments still rage over the success - or otherwise - of France's new state- sponsored funded pension system. Historically, pension funds have not been a part of the country's savings culture, and the introduction of various corporate and...

Feature: DC in the Netherlands - Shifting the balance of risk.
September 27, 2005... Having undergone a rapid and large-scale shift from final salary defined benefit (DB) to average salary pensions, Dutch employers are now looking at defined contribution (DC). However, the hybrid under consideration, known as collective DC,...

Pension Fund Profile: NPRF - Irish fund builds on success with property drive.
September 27, 2005... If the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) continues to pull in returns at the rate it did during the first half of this year, then it looks set to top its 2004 end-of-year performance by almost seven percentage points before year-end. ...